1968 Chevy C10 - Karma Inferno

For some, there's nothing like putting the final touches on a project truck. Oftentimes, the praise from your peers is enough to warrant the countless hours spent in the garage, the hardships put on the family, and pretty much a lot of the negative aspects associated with this huge undertaking. On the flipside of that is the hole in your heart seeing that same glorious project get damaged in any way, shape, or form, not the least of which being an electrical fire. Devastating doesn't begin to describe how that must feel.

Well, that's exactly what happened to Doug Times after he'd just finished his 21-month '68 Chevy project. To be more precise, just six days prior to having the truck photographed in Columbus, Ohio, Doug encountered an electrical fire under the hood; it ultimately disintegrated the wiring harness from the firewall forward, not to mention doing a number on more than a few painted and/or polished surfaces. Suffice it to say, three days after the small blaze, Doug's truck was back on the road (with help he credits to Last Chance Garage, Billet Specialties, Gary Buckles, and Paul Davis) looking as good as new-maybe even better.

It all started back with his dad's '70 C-10, which eventually led to Doug's first vehicle, a '54 Chevy 3100. He's a self-admitted truck nut-why else would anybody fly from Ohio to California to buy an old truck without a predetermined means of getting it home other than driving it?! That's just what he and pal Gary did back in 2004 when Doug located his new project (originally a longbed) with an additional 1/2-ton frame and a short Fleetside bed floor. After purchasing the truck in Oakland, the two bought a trailer. They then turned around and mounted the floor to it, followed by the frame. Two hours later, the would-be travelers found themselves broken down well past regular business hours with not an "open" sign lit up in sight. They ended up camping in front of the first repair shop they encountered, praying to the used-truck gods it would be open the following morning. Thankfully, it was, and Doug and Gary were able to get to their final destination.

Horror stories aside, Doug is a professional welder by trade-he and his father, Jim, operate a small metal fab shop (Times Welding in their hometown of Miamisburg, Ohio) by day. That leaves evenings and weekends free for projects such as the '68 C-10-at least that's the way Doug sees it, but if you were to get his better half Ginny's opinion, well, you probably wouldn't get the same response. Nevertheless, Mrs. Times did endure nearly two years of her husband's extracurricular activities, for which Doug is without a doubt most grateful.

Finished for a little over a year now, the '68 has racked up well over 6,000 miles, as it was built to drive, not to sit. With its 383ci engine that features a scratchbuilt fuel-injection system tuned by Tracey Scott at Scott Racing & Performance, a 700-R4 overdrive, and a 4.10 Posi, it should come as no surprise that this truck gets used often. Knowing how much time he'd spend behind the wheel, Doug made sure the chassis was done accordingly, which not only meant redesigning the A-arms, but also adding Air Ride Technologies 'bags and McGaughy's dropped spindles, C-notching the rear, and building a custom Panhard bar.

As for the fancy stuff-the paint and interior-Doug farmed those duties out to the proper people. After he'd finished his sheetmetal modifications, he sent the truck over to Last Chance Garage in Germantown, Ohio, for final bodywork followed by an application of DuPont '06 Mitsubishi Inferno Red Krystal Effect complemented by silver-painted Rallye wheels by Gary and Randy Willis. Inside the factory bucket seat-equipped cab, nearby Gray's Auto Upholstery did their thing, covering most of the surfaces with silver and graphite body cloth.

Despite the setback caused by the fire, Doug never gave up his goal of completing the '68 just as he'd intended on doing the day he spotted it on the Internet. He may have second thoughts about buying another truck in the same manner, though, and we're pretty sure he carries fire extinguishers in everything he drives!